During some military operations, one or more soldiers locate targets to be fired upon by, for example, indirect fire systems or air support and transmit a geographic location for the target to a fire control center or to an integrated tactical network. The fire control center or integrated tactical network then deploys a strike on the target using the target geographic location. Target designators are used by military personnel to determine the geographical coordinates of a target. One type of target designator is designed so that an operator is able to shine a laser at a target and to receive light scattered and/or reflected from the target in order to determine the geographical coordinates of the target.
Such lasers, however, are typically detectable by enemy sensors, which detect the laser light and set off alarms. In some cases, once the enemy realizes the target geographic location is being determined, the target is moved, hidden and/or hardened. Additionally, the enemy can sometimes trace the optical beam back to the operator of the target designator. In this case, the operator can become a target of the enemy.
Moreover, the divergence of the laser beam used in such target designators limits the range of such target designators. If the range is too large, the spot size of the laser becomes too large for range determination. Thus, with some such target designators, the operator must be within 10,000 meters for ranging, and 5000 meters for proper designation of the target, which can place the operator in tactical danger. Timing, coordination and lethality are of the essence for combined arms operations, particularly for non-organic fire support/air operations. It is highly desirable for the combat team to engage targets at the farthest practical range possible.
Furthermore, there are safety issues associated with target designators that use lasers in this way. If the operator or other soldiers near the target designator look directly into the laser, their retina can be burned and/or their vision otherwise impaired.